If the vision of the design team undoubtedly aimed to break with the conventions, it is clear that it did not find its audience. The release of Windows 8 in 2012 sparked a wave of virulent criticisms, especially due to the removal of the start menu, an element, however emblematic of Windows operating systems. Faced with the massive rejection on the part of its own users, the Redmond firm had to backtrack with the output of Windows 8.1, which reinstated the Start button the following year, in 2013.
More than a decade later, the Windows 8 episode has become a real case of school in terms of dissonance between the innovations offered by Microsoft and the expectations of its customers. Fortunately, the American firm finally knew how to get up from this perspective failure with the arrival of Windows 10, which is preparing to bow out at the end of 2025.
